Chapter 69 Was it you when we first met in our youth?
Hua Deng's room wasn't very big.
The Hua family was low-key and simple in their lifestyle. Their house had three courtyards and three entrances, and they had only a few servants.
She lived in the west wing, which remained exactly as it was before she left. The lanterns were lit on her favorite bed, and although it was only just getting dark, she was already preparing to go to sleep.
Shen Zhou came to her side very naturally, chose a suitable spot, and lay down with her in his arms, without saying anything like "it's still early".
He didn't actually sleep for long periods; most of the time he would just hold her and pretend to sleep, occasionally casting some sleep-inducing spells on her. That's why Hua Deng liked lying with him so much, because she slept soundly.
She slept very well that night, as usual.
When I woke up the next day, it was already bright, and Shen Zhou was unexpectedly not by my side.
Hua Deng hadn't slept in her own bed for a long time, so she stayed snuggled in the blankets for a while before slowly getting up.
She put on her shoes and got out of bed, preparing to change her clothes, when she suddenly caught sight of something and looked closely.
On the clothes rack beside the screen hung a dark purple dress. It was a summer style, and when the lanterns were taken down, the fabric felt silky smooth; one could imagine how cool and comfortable it would be to wear.
She went behind the screen to change into the dress, twirled in front of the mirror twice, and found that every detail was just right, as if it had been tailored to her measurements.
The dress is exquisitely designed and looks slightly complicated, but it feels light as a feather when worn. When you walk, the hem sways like a blooming camellia. When the sunlight shines on it, it has a shimmering glow, and the crane pattern, which is almost imperceptible to the naked eye, emerges in the sunlight.
When Shen Zhou returned, she was still wearing this outfit, admiring it: "Did you pick out this dress?"
"Hmm." Shen Zhou put the item on the table and said, "The defensive effect is very good."
Hua Deng: "...I didn't ask that."
This person is clearly ridiculously strong, yet she's terribly obsessed with defensive magic items; she's practically an impenetrable fortress now, impervious to swords and spears.
However, her attention was immediately diverted by what Shen Zhou had brought back.
"Ju Luo fruit?"
And it wasn't just one or two, it was a whole basket.
Such weight and quality would be priceless elsewhere. Hua Deng picked one up, hesitated, and couldn't bring himself to eat it: "Could this have been grown by someone else?"
Shen Zhou remained expressionless: "No, I picked it from the roadside."
Since he said that, we didn't care whether it was true or not, and we didn't care about the streetlights anymore. We just sat down and ate.
The taste was even better than last time, which shows that he had carefully selected the ingredients.
After she finished eating, Shen Zhou casually wiped her mouth. Only later did Hua Deng realize that he was also wearing purple clothes today, making them look like a couple.
Since they were wearing matching outfits, they couldn't resist going out for a stroll. Hua Deng immediately grabbed his hand and headed outside. On the way, they bumped into Hua's mother, who called out to them, "It's almost lunchtime, where are you going?"
Hua Deng replied loudly, "No need to wait for us, let's eat outside!"
She pulled Chen Zhou onto the street. She knew this street very well. In the past, when she couldn't go far, she would walk around this street repeatedly.
With the Dragon Boat Festival approaching, the streets were quite crowded. Hua Deng walked by and introduced the place: "Do you see that teahouse? There used to be a storyteller there who was exceptionally good at it. Later, I heard that his daughter got married, and he followed her there."
Shen Zhou said, "Storytelling?"
Hua Deng asked curiously, "You haven't heard of it before, have you?"
Shen Zhou said, "No."
"Then I'll bring you here this afternoon, and we'll listen together."
"Need not."
"Oh, I want to hear it."
"...What about that storyteller you mentioned?"
"ah?"
"I'll help you bring him back."
"No need, no need. Actually, what we're talking about now is quite good too." (Probably.)
Seeing her sincere expression, Chen Zhou chuckled and gave up.
Although they were going out for a meal, before heading to the restaurant, Hua Deng made a special trip to her favorite pastry shop to buy a chestnut flour cake.
The taste was almost unchanged. She shared a piece with Shen Zhou, and Shen Zhou did not refuse.
The two continued forward.
"That's a bookstore over there. I used to read storybooks here. My dad always made me read classical Chinese texts, but what's so interesting about that?"
"And this sugar figurine shop, did you see it? I loved eating their sugar figurines when I was a kid."
Hua Deng decided to buy a copy to relive her childhood.
She ordered the rabbit-shaped sugar figurine that she used to eat most often when she was a child. After paying, she turned around and found Chen Zhou waiting for her not far away.
She held up the sugar figurine, closed one eye, and peered at Chen Zhou through the gap in the rabbit ear cutouts. He stood in the crowd, casting his gaze upon her and giving a faint smile.
Something seemed to flash through my mind.
"...Huh?"
She slowly put down the sugar figurine, a look of bewilderment in her eyes.
This must be the first time she has brought Shen Zhou here.
Yet this scene—the scene of her holding the sugar figurine, the scene of him casually glancing at it in the crowd—was so familiar.
It was as if they had once seen each other face to face.
She remembered.
"Is it you...?"
*
Thirteen years ago.
On the night of the Lantern Festival, the streets were teeming with people.
A small figure, clutching a sugar figurine, struggled to squeeze through the crowd.
The little lamp was panting heavily from exhaustion.
On a day like this, her parents still wouldn't let her go out—how awful! Luckily, she was quick-witted and figured out the guards' shift change pattern, so she managed to slip out.
She carefully held the sugar figurine and finally squeezed through the noisy crowd of adults to the edge of a stall.
She didn't notice that a young man in black was standing there, looking around with an impatient expression.
The young man, Chen Zhou, is searching for his master.
"Xue Zifei, get out here! Do you think I can't find you just because there are so many people around?" He sent a message using a communication talisman.
Before he could get a response, something bumped against his leg. He impatiently moved away, but the thing followed him again.
He looked down, and the child beside him looked up; their eyes met.
"Kid, get out of here," he said coldly.
However, Xiao Huadeng was completely captivated by his good looks.
The boy in front of her was a little over ten years old, very tall, and more handsome than anyone she had ever seen.
She vaguely remembered some memories of her past life, but the system said that because her body was too weak, she needed to remember them slowly over time.
But she felt that none of the celebrities from the past were as good-looking as the young man in front of her.
“Brother, come home with me.” She said sincerely, “Although you speak harshly and are rude, I will forgive you if you are willing to become my family’s son-in-law.”
Shen Zhou stared at her, then suddenly laughed: "You're courting death. I don't have time to deal with you."
After saying that, he turned and left.
Little Hua Deng, holding a sugar figurine, chased after it with a clattering sound.
There were just too many people. At that moment, someone happened to pass by and bumped into her. Before she could react, she fell to the ground.
She fell in a terrible state, her mouth covered in mud, and her sugar figurine fell into the dirt. The young man clearly saw it, but instead of helping her up, he mocked her, saying, "You blind little thing."
Xiao Huadeng is usually a strong child. She can even drink very bitter medicine by pinching her nose and never needs to be coaxed.
This time, however, she wiped the mud from her mouth, picked up the dirty sugar figurine, and burst into tears, crying uncontrollably.
The boy remained unmoved, finding the noise annoying, and left dejectedly.
Just then, the little girl pointed at him and sobbed, "Waaah, you pushed me..."
This immediately drew everyone's attention, and there were also many voices of condemnation:
"Oh dear, what kind of older brother are you? You don't even know how to comfort your little sister when she's crying."
"Whose child are you? I've never seen you before. Quickly help your little sister up."
Shen Zhou paused, turned around expressionlessly, grabbed the child and left, his face extremely cold.
He carried Xiao Huadeng the whole way. Luckily, she was light, so it wasn't too uncomfortable for her. When they arrived at a quiet alley at the end of the street, the boy finally put her down.
Little Hua Deng's sugar figurine had long since disappeared, but she still remembered to wipe away tears and pretend to cry: "Waaah, brother is so mean, brother pushed me..."
With a flick of her finger, Xiao Huadeng soared into the air. She forgot to cry and lowered her head in a daze.
Shen Zhou spun her around, and amidst her screams, he said mercilessly, "Do I need to push you?"
Xiao Hua Deng felt dizzy and fell to the ground, almost losing her balance.
However, when she looked up again, her eyes were not filled with the fear that Shen Zhou had expected, but with surprise: "Big brother, you are so amazing, can you fly?"
Shen Zhou looked down at her condescendingly: "What do you want to do?"
Xiao Huadeng clasped her hands together and said, "I also want to fly in the sky. Please, brother, I'll give you money!"
Shen Zhou asked, "How much can you give?"
Xiao Huadeng: "One hundred taels...five hundred taels!"
Shen Zhou curled his lips into a smile, summoned his immortal sword, and said to her, "Come up."
When Xiao Huadeng saw him stand on the sword, her eyes widened, and she immediately followed suit, huffing and puffing as she climbed up. The boy watched the whole time without offering her a helping hand.
After she grabbed his clothes and carefully stood still, he said, "Come on, I'll fly for you."
With a resounding clang, the immortal sword rose into the air and soared straight into the clouds.
This speed was actually extremely slow for a cultivator, but it was incredibly stimulating for Xiao Huadeng. She wanted to scream, but her mouth was sealed with magic by the young man, so she couldn't make a sound at all.
He actually complained that a little kid was noisy. Ugh, what an unreasonable guy.
Gradually, Xiaohua Deng got used to the height and could occasionally glance down. But only once, and then quickly looked away, as looking down for too long made him dizzy.
Therefore, when she glanced down and realized that their destination was Washington, D.C., she was both shocked and angry: "How did you know to bring me here? I don't want to go back! I finally managed to escape!"
Shen Zhou said, "I heard your servants looking for their child. Is your name Hua Deng?"
Xiao Huadeng shrank back guiltily and said loudly, "No, my name is Dengdeng!"
Shen Zhou laughed, and the immortal sword continued to head towards the Hua Mansion.
Little Hua Deng didn't want to go back and get beaten, so she grabbed his leg in terror: "Put me down!"
The boy let her grab him, and said lazily, "I don't have time to play with you. Go home."
Xiao Huadeng pouted, about to cry.
The boy pressed her head down, looking exasperated, and tried to reason with her: "What's the rush? In a few years you'll be able to fly too."
"Waaaah...Brother lied!"
“It’s true. Cultivating immortality requires a talent called spiritual root,” he said. “You have a heavenly spiritual root, the most outstanding aptitude. You will be able to fly on a sword very soon.”
Xiao Huadeng stopped crying and quietly raised her eyes: "Will I be more powerful than my brother in the future?"
The boy glanced at her in surprise, then said sarcastically, "Dream on."
"..."
Xiao Huadeng puffed up her cheeks, looking unhappy again.
In the end, the Legend of Sword and Fairy ended up outside the Hua Mansion.
Shen Zhou stood on the sword, gesturing for her to get down. Xiao Hua Deng put her hands on her hips and sighed like a little adult.
Hearing the commotion inside the mansion, she felt a chill run down her spine, imagining the severe beating she would receive when she returned.
She climbed down from the sword with a worried look on her face, then suddenly remembered something and called out to the boy, "Little brother, wait a minute."
Shen Zhou raised his chin, signaling her to finish speaking quickly.
Hua Deng reached behind her neck with both hands, took off the amulet she always wore, and put it in Chen Zhou's palm.
The boy grabbed it and flipped it over: "What is this?"
Xiao Huadeng said in a soft, sweet voice, "It's a good luck charm. Everyone has one."
Shen Zhou waved his hand: "I don't want to."
The child gave him a "you're disobedient" look, shook his head and said, "Brother, even if you speak rudely and have a bad temper, you're so handsome, I still hope you'll be safe and sound."
Safety……
As if thinking of something, Shen Zhou said casually, "I won't be safe."
"Huh?" Xiao Huadeng didn't understand. Why would someone curse her?
Shen Zhou had no intention of explaining. He squatted down and looked her in the eye, saying, "But I'll accept the gift."
“I have nothing to give in return,” he said. “How about this, if I live to see you grow up, I can grant you one request.”
"Now, you should go home."
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